Empty chemical drums must be handled by specialist waste management companies. Commercial operators may accept chemical drums for recycling or reconditioning for resale. This may be through a pick-up or drop-off service.You can use the search bar on this page to find chemical drum recyclers near you.
drumMUSTER provides Australian agricultural and veterinary chemical users with a recycling pathway for eligible empty chemical containers. There are over 825 drumMUSTER collection sites across Australia. This is a free drop-off service and containers must carry the drumMUSTER logo to be eligible. The program will not accept petroleum or liquid chlorine containers that are used for non-agricultural purposes, or intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) for reconditioning.
ChemClear, a sister program to drumMUSTER, is Australia’s only Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program operating for AgVet chemicals and is an initiative of the Industry Waste Reduction Scheme (IWRS).Its aim is to safely dispose of unwanted AgVet chemicals.
Why recycle?
Chemical drums are made from recyclable materials, primarily plastics and steel. Recycling or reconditioning chemical drums keeps these items out of landfill and preserves the natural resources used to make them like steel. Keeping these materials in use reduces demand for mining new materials and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
Chemical drums may also contain remnants of hazardous waste which must be disposed of responsible, so it doesn’t enter the environment and threaten the health and safety of wildlife.
What happens to them?
Reconditioning
Intermediate bulk containers that are collected for reconditioning are cleaned and repaired where needed, such as the replacement of closures and lids. These drums are then resold.
Recycling
Drums must be triple-rinsed and punctured before they can be accepted for crushing. Once crushed the metal drums are transported to a recycling facility. Reusable plastic drums will be returned to the relevant chemical company. Non-reusable drums will be shredded and recycled for uses such as plastic culvert pipes
Recycling other hazardous waste
The following items are classified as hazardous waste and must be recycled or disposed of responsibly.
Asbestos
Asbestos is a building material that becomes hazardous and toxic when it is disturbed or moved. It must be disposed of safely and responsibly to reduce risk to human health.
Batteries contain both hazardous and valuable materials. Commercial recyclers can recover approximately 97% of the materials so they can be used again.
Many farm chemicals can be hazardous to human and ecosystem health and must be disposed of responsibly.ChemClear is an industry-run product stewardship scheme that provides a safe collection and disposal service nationally for unwanted agricultural and veterinary chemicals.
Paint contains chemicals such as solvents and metals that can contaminate our groundwater and have negative effects on human health.A number of commercial recyclers offer paint and solvent recycling and services across a wide variety of industries.
Empty chemical drums must be handled by specialist waste management companies. Commercial operators may accept chemical drums for recycling or reconditioning for resale. This may be through a pick-up or drop-off service.You can use the search bar on this page to find chemical drum recyclers near you.
drumMUSTER provides Australian agricultural and veterinary chemical users with a recycling pathway for eligible empty chemical containers. There are over 825 drumMUSTER collection sites across Australia. This is a free drop-off service and containers must carry the drumMUSTER logo to be eligible. The program will not accept petroleum or liquid chlorine containers that are used for non-agricultural purposes, or intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) for reconditioning.
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